I am not a copyright lawyer, but I have an interest in copyright law and I think I understand the issue here.

So first off, the copyright extension releases are driven by a provision in UK law, so it has nothing to do with copyright in the United States. However, in the world of the internet, if a document goes into the public domain in one country, it is very hard to keep it from being viewed in other countries. After all, if a British person can legally share an album online, then it is much harder to stop an American from listening to it, even if it is still in copyright there. And of course, if you do release it in the UK, then not releasing it in the rest of the world too is just asking people to download it illegally.

Second, there is a distinction in copyright law between the copyright in the sound recording – that is the right to the actual recorded performance – and the right in the underlying song itself. This is why musicians always have two companies, a publishing company and a record label. The publisher handles the ownership of the song, the record company handles the ownership of the recording. To release a record, of course, you need permission from both rightsholders. (This is how Murry could sell the publishing to all Brian’s tunes without effecting the ownership of the Beach Boys actual recordings).

In 2013 the copyright in a sound recording was changed in Britain from 50 years to 70 years after the date that the recording was “fixed” – or recorded. However, this extension only occurs if the sound recording has been published within the original 50 years. Hence, the online releases we’ve all been enjoying.

So to answer your original question, if “Visions” was not released *in the UK* within 50 years of its recording, then the sound recording is in the public domain in the UK (though still under copyright in the US). However, the underlying composition – the song itself – is not. So in order to print up your record and sell it *in the UK*, you would have to secure the right to release the song from the publishing company that owns it, but you would not have to secure the right to the recording itself from the label, cutting the owner of the recording out of any profits.

As a side note, because the underlying copyright in the song is not effected, this has no effect whatsoever on your ability to cover the song, since to cover a song you only need permission from one company, the publisher of the song, and not the label that owns the recording.

One thing to keep in mind is that an artist like Brian elevates the people around them. Brian got the best performances out of his session musicians and background singers, the best lyrics out of his partners, etc. His creativity and enthusiasm for other peoples ideas brings out the best in the people who work with him. So, yes, Joe Thomas wrote the outro to Sunshine, but Brian Wilson brought him to the place where he could create that.

I've seen Brian do the row row row your boat thing a few times, but I must say, in the past it was definitely a funny bit but seemed entirely planned out. in Brooklyn yesterday, between God Only Knows and I Know there's an Answer, it felt totally bizarre and spontaneous. Of course, that doesn't mean it wasn't planned, but it definitely had a different,much weirder, vibe at this show, at least to me! My take on the show in general was that Brian was in very poor voice compared to usual, but very high spirits.

I've recently become very interested in Brian's Friends-20/20 work, and it struck me just how often he composed waltzes in this era. I can't think of too many notable songs before when he wrote in 3/4 time*, yet from "Time to Get Alone" (probably Brian's most ambitious song from this period) to "I Went to Sleep," he seems to have landed on several interrelated feels in 3/4 time. It sounds to me like the Friends-era waltzes come from a discrete batch of songs and feels - can anyone give more info on the composition of these songs, or any place where Brian has commented on them?

*can someone think of others? Surfer Girl, In my Room, some of the b-side songs on Today!, and what else?

A lot of the early ballads were in 6/8:

The Lonely SeaSurfer GirlThe Surfer MoonIn My RoomYour Summer DreamThe Warmth of the SunKeep an Eye on SummerBallad of Ole BetsyWe’ll Run AwayGirls on the BeachThank Him

(some would say 12/8 - honestly the difference between the two time signatures has always escaped me a little, I guess one has more of a triplet feel than the other. However you write it out, this 6/8 feel was very, very common in 50s and early 60s ballads/doo wop. Brian's trick was to take these old ballad feels and give them a twist in the harmonies and progressions that made them fresh and new.

I think that Let the Wind blow may be Brian's first waltz, although I'm not positive.

But it kind of makes sense that Brian would have become attracted to Waltz time, because he was so used to writing ballads with a triplet feel, and waltz time was sort of a mature twist on that. The fact that a song like Friends or I Went To Sleep changes chords every measure makes it really sound like a traditional waltz by emphasizing the 3/4 time. Likewise, Time to Get Alone emphasizes its time signature by using a different prepared piano for every beat of the measure and repeating that every measure. Let the Wind Blow doesn't stand out as much as a waltz because it sits on the first chord of every line for the first two bars, which de-emphasizes the waltz aspect a little.

That said, compared to how often he used straight time, Brian really didn't write very many waltzes at all!

I've long been under the impression that this song was the source of the famous story of Brian erasing all the groups vocals and replacing them with himself because the group hadn't been able to get it right. Is there any truth to that?

I finally got around to buying Made in California and I'm thoroughly enjoying it, especially the last two discs! I want to load all of the songs or mixes that I don't have already onto the computer, while avoiding those songs that would be duplicates (something I imagine a lot of people here also did.) In doing this, some questions have come up about different mixes that I was hoping you all could help me answer. I have tried my best with the search function, but the only question I could find an answer to was Breakaway - and even then the poster didn't say if it was a vintage mix or a newly created one. So basically, I want to know what makes some of these mixes different from the mixes I already have, where it's not obvious to my ears, and also as much background as you knowledgeable people might be able to give!

1. What is the difference between the Made in California mix of the 1967 Surfs Up demo and the Smile Sessions mix?2. Where else has the single version of California Saga been released? I'm trying to figure out if I have the single version already in itunes. Is the single version very different from the album version?3. Is the Lonely Sea version on this boxset different besides having the longer fade?4. Other than the session excerpts, are there other differences between the Graduation Day mix on Made in California and the version on the two-fer?5. From the Smile Sessions, the vegetables and wind chimes stereo mixes were on the LP in the box set, but not the CDs, right? Heroes Parts 1 and 2 were also only the 7 inch vinyl? And Our Prayer wasn't released on the box set in stereo? Are these the only Smile cuts on the box that weren't previously released on CD/digital?6. What is the deal with Sail Plane Song?7. Ditto Susie cincinatti - what makes it an unreleased 2012 mix?8. What makes this Break Away mix different, and is it vintage? I don't have Hawthorne California, so it's new to me.9. What's different about the It's Ok alternate mix? Is it vintage or a new creation like Rock and Roll music? 10. What are the difference's on Brian's Back from the Endless Harmony Version? I can't hear any, but it's not exactly a song I listen to all the time.

One last, more subjective questions - are there any tracks on this box set that particularly surprised you or that you didn't realize had something new or cool going on in them until you'd had the box for a while?

I suspect someone more knowledgeable than me will answer this more specifically, but I do recall that there was a specific story about Dennis playing the Tuba, as well as a general opinion from someone involved in the sessions - I can't remember who, maybe Earle Mankey? - that he could pick up just about any instrument and get some kind of interesting sound out of it, even if he was no expert. And that he played the bass harmonica himself but had to sit down on the floor to get enough air in his lungs! The impression I've gotten is that Dennis was not at all selfish with his production style - that he would gladly throw a part to anyone who happened to be around if he thought they could play something good, whether or not they were a pro or an expert, or he'd just do it himself if that was easier. I take it as being similar in spirit to Brian's openness to the contributions of session musicians, combined with a penchant to be very, very specific and demanding when he knew what he wanted.

Edit: just remembered my source: it was Craig Slowinski's riveting and comprehensive sessionography of Pacific Ocean Blue which I believe is available on the internet with some googling! It will answer all of your questions.

My suggestions would be:first and foremost: The Christmas Album. This was a real production effort from Brian and a very important step forward in his evolution as an artist. Definitely a need-to-own record, in my opinion. The 1973 In Concert album is absolutely essential. The band transformed those songs into something new. To me, this live album sums up everything that made the Beach Boys great in the 70s.A compilation of Brian's outside production work in the 60s (there are a couple) - the volume of work the man was doing is astounding!

And I'll add my voice to the That Lucky Old Sun and Gershwin chorus. Also, you really should own Gettin In Over My Head - it gets ragged on to no end here, but it actually has some amazing songs and productions on it, particularly if you haven't heard the Paley sessions that so many of those great songs and productions came from!

Loving it so far, guys. Keep them coming. I'm torn on which version of Good Vibrations to use. I prefer the more complete TSS version with the "hum, we now. hum, we now ohoh" but I'd love to hear why another version might fit better.

I would use the single version - as the only truly completed and released Smile track from the time period, I feel that it is an absolutely essential indicator of the level of perfection, attention to detail, and economy with which the final mixes of the Smile songs would been completed! I love the other versions too, of course! One thing I might do is include the single version and the sessions excerpts from the old Wild Honey two-fer, that way you can see all of the cool ideas that didn't make it in, while still understanding, historically speaking, how Brian was working and what he considered an appropriate final product. (this is the reason I use the Cantina mix of heroes and villains too, although of course that wasn't actually released!)

I Get AroundAll Summer Long - I would start my playlist with these songs, as a representative of Brian's high level of creativity in traditional pop/surf songwriting. When I grow up to be a Man – the harpsichord and introspective lyrics linked with the surf beat make this one of the best "in-between" tracks.Guess I'm Dumb - another step on the road to Pet Sounds. The link from this to I Guess I Just Wasn't Made for these Times is pretty easy to see, in terms of the complexity of the melody itself. A wickedly difficult song to sing! Kiss me Baby (use the stereo mix, it’s easier to see the link to Pet Sounds that way, I think)In the Back of My Mind (instrumental track) – the connection to Pet Sounds is easier to make without the vocal, in my opinion. California Girls (again, using the Stereo mix is a must, much easier to draw out the complexity of the arrangement.)Let Him Run Wild (instrumental track) – Listening to just the Instrumental Track of this makes clear that there is a direct line from the sounds and sensibilities of a track like this to the Smile material.And Your Dreams Come True - looking forward to Our PrayerThe Little Girl I Once Knew - using the mix with the acapella drop out from the Hawthorne sessions might make the link to Sloop John B easier to see, although the single mix is better, in my opinion.Sloop John B – From Little Girl to Sloop you see the Pet Sounds production sensibility being refined. Pet Sounds (with Sloop John B removed, of course, and Hang On To Your Ego swapped in for I Know There's an Answer - helping to bridge forward into the Smile sessions with it's slightly druggy lyrics)Good VibrationsHeroes and Villains (Cantina Mix) – Good Vibrations and the Cantina mix continue to show the progression of Brian’s sound through single mixes.Prayer – (because you included And Your Dreams Come True, this isn’t so much out of nowhere as a refinement of something Brian was doing before Pet Sounds.Heroes and Villains Sections (Stereo Mix from Smile Sessions)CabinessenceWonderfulMrs. O’Leary’s Cow – these four songs cover all of Smile’s major themes, with the Heroes and Villains sections really illustrating Brian’s iterative working methods. Surf’s Up (Piano demo) – here we see Brian’s greatest song as it was left when Smile was scrapped in ’67.

"Until two weeks ago, I hadn’t seen him since 1974,” said Wilson, who reconnected with Chaplin to have him sing on Wilson’s next solo album, currently in the works. “It was great to see him again. He came into the studio and sang on one of my new tracks called ‘He Come Down’ -- he sang it great! It will be fun to have him at a few of our concerts.”

One thing Brian has demonstrated with the last couple of projects is that he still sees an album as rightly having a consistency of tone, and that he is not above holding back material for the right future project. The fact that Brian Wilson, all through Getting in Over My Head and That Lucky Old Sun, was just sitting on a bunch of good songs he'd written in the mid-90s, waiting patiently for a Beach Boys reunion, combined with old interviews like this one, indicates to me that he probably has a stock of songs sitting around waiting for either a particular project or simply a more "appropriate" one. Brian himself has said that No Pier Pressure was intended to be mellow and "not rock n roll" - so maybe the rock n roll songs were set aside, rather than not written.

Hi Brian, thanks for stopping by! Do you have any songs that you've written that have an interesting story behind their composition which you've never told anyone before, or which people never seem to ask about? What's the song and what's the story?

I've always loved "Bull Sessions with Big Daddy," and may be nearly alone in thinking it's the perfect ending to Today. Something about the way In the Back of My Mind fades out, the lights come up, and then the band is just sitting around having dinner feels so authentic and interesting to me. And I think it was very much intentional. The way I see it, the idea of the rock/pop album as art was still very nascent, and the Beach Boys' previous albums were not conceptualized as art, but as "product." They were meant to be fun, and cool. I don't really think it's fair to call the joke tracks "filler" when Brian was so productive at this point that he was leaving songs unreleased, and writing and producing tons of records for other bands, many of which were formed just to release a song or two that he had lying around. If Brian had wanted one more song for any of those albums, he could have gone into the studio and recorded one! But he included the joking around tracks because Beach Boys fans were teenagers, and those tracks helped build their image, create loyalty, make their fans feel like the band were just kids like them having a good time, joking around, playing music in their garage. It was about their image. So then in 1965, Brian is suddenly making this really arty, serious album, filled with self doubt, anxiety, questioning. But rather than give the album the kind of beautiful, poignant ending that he would practically invent with Caroline, No, he just made the "talking" track more serious too. Instead of silly voices, stupid jokes, and fake fights, he recorded three minutes of the band sitting around in the studio eating some burgers. Now that his music was more authentic, he made the "what it's like to be in a recording studio with the Beach Boy" track more authentic too.

I think one thing people may be discounting is that Brian Wilson, who needs neither money nor respect at this point in his career, records music for fun. It's easy for fans to talk about artistic expression and commercial potential, and I'm sure those are real factors. But when Brian goes into the studio, maybe, just maybe, it's because he feels like it. He's been doing it his whole life, and it's fun to make records! And so maybe Brian wants to shake things up by bringing in some other voices, and so he asks his management to find some young people he can sing with - no one too scary or intimidating, not Paul McCartney (and it's not like those super-star collaborations ever go well anyways), just some new voices. You know?

It is very much an open question in my mind what role Mike Love played in the composition of the Beach Boys Today. On stylistic grounds, I'm confident that Mike made a major contribution to Kiss Me Baby, and that he contributed relatively little to In the Back of My Mind. But for some of the other songs I think it's hard to say. But there is no doubt in my mind that the same balance of composing could have been applied to Pet Sounds, because Today has a similar level of lyrical sophistication. But Brian needed Tony Asher as more than a lyricist, he was also a friend, someone to hang out with, talk things through with, bounce ideas off of. It was a time-consuming process, and Mike was in Japan with the Beach Boys. Pet Sounds wasn't the kind of thing you could get done in back rooms and cabs between gigs, so for Mike to work on the project, the band would have had to take a break from touring. So it would have meant changes in the Beach Boys methods and course beyond just switching lyricists.

As for Smile, I think it is no diss on Mike Love to say that Mike's talents and interests were fundamentally incompatible with Smile as Brian and conceived it on a fundamental level. Smile with Mike Love lyrics wouldn't have been Smile, it would have had to be something completely different.

I thought, for a career as long and varied as the Beach Boys, the two-fer reissues were pretty amazing. I mean, for once the record companies were giving people more bang for their buck, and with detailed liner notes and bonus tracks, it was clear that they were well thought out releases. And they amde the catalogue a little more digestible. Released individually the albums are slight, especially early on, if only because they're often only 25 or 30 minutes long. I think that all the albums between Today and Holland deserve individual releases with lots of bonus tracks, reflecting the richness of the material, but for earlier and later albums the two-fers were perfect.

I want to add three points to this conversation:1. Adult Child was submitted to and rejected by Warner Brothers. If they had accepted it, it would have come out, and there would have been three late 70s Brian dominated albums, instead of two. 2. Carl and Dennis did not want 15 Big Ones released as it was, and they were outvoted, three to two. My understanding is that this is not a metaphorical situation - there was a literal vote, and they lost. For good reason, Dennis and Carl wanted their own and Brian's excellent material on a more polished album, instead of the rough covers that came out. 3. People seem to seriously underestimate the seriousness of Brian's mental illness in the 60s, in my opinion. Yes, he managed to live a normal life into the early 70s, but during the Smile period he was hearing voices, suffering serious paranoia, and manic up and depressive down periods. These kinds of symptoms, and especially the voices, which Brian still struggles with to this day, to my understanding, can make just day to day life incredibly difficult. Without any kind of proper treatment, it's amazing how together Brian held it for so long, in my opinion.

Well, is there really any different between one's self and one's life? Or are both just different perspectives or manifestations of the same phenomena?

In other Wouldn't It Be Nice (to Live Again) observations - there are parts that remind me of steamboat, especially that assending and descending bass line (synth bass I think). Probably not concious, but just a cool instance of a similar feel making it into two Dennis songs, I think.

Nothing is exactly clear cut in the BB's history of picking tracks for their post '67 LP's, but I think its been stated here many times, and is fairly well accepted among people with what info is available that Dennis' tracks specifically recorded and submitted for Surf's Up were WIBNTLA and 4th of July. They had not been mixed and mastered, and they each had a little bit of polishing to be done, as with his Holland tracks Dennis probably would have left the clean-up to Carl, or would have done it in collaboration with Carl. These decisions on sequencing probably occurred while this work was being planned. I highly doubt Lady was considered, as it had already seen release as a European Dennis solo side.

Regarding DW's suggested sequence, from what I've been told he wanted WIBNTLA to follow Till I Die and to close the LP. I've also heard he suggested that Surf's Up be the album opener. I think its a good bet Feet or SDT would have been the ones to be left out if Carl and Dennis had reached a consensus. But again this is all very speculative, the route the BB's took to finalizing track inclusion, sequence and getting over the label approval hurdle is always one of those "depends on who you're talking to" kind of things, because a lot of people put in their two-cents, and the pattern of things being in constant flux was definitely the case once Brian wasn't taking responsibility for such choices anymore.

Thanks for the response, that's very helpful! I think Lady was listed as a song left off at the last minute in an older incarnation of the wikipedia article for Surf's Up, and that that is the source of the persistent rumor that it was almost included.

Dennis' whole reason for pulling his tracks off Surfs Up is a simple one, he wanted them heard in a certain context, if that wasn't going to be the case then he he didn't want them on there. He was over it in like two days, never held it against anybody...it was a cold calculated thing. He and Carl disagreed about the sequence of the LP, Carl won out, Dennis said OK but you don't get my tracks. Next. The thing that most grates on me is no one else in the band insisted his tracks stay, according to Reiley, and some others around the activity, they were jealous or envious of Dennis' talent, and were happy to see Dennis' work not on the LP for completely selfish reasons.

I just asked this in the "would Surf's Up have been the greatest" thread, but I want to ask again here since if anyone would know, it would be Jon I imagine: do we know exactly what songs Dennis expected to be on the album before he pulled them? And particularly, what is the evidence, or lack there of, of Lady being included? (It always seemed like a strange fit to me, personally.) I'm assuming Sound of Free wasn't under consideration, despite making it into many board member's alt. Surf's Up playlists - is this accurate?

Three more questions: Do we know anything about Dennis's preferred sequence, other than Wouldn't It Be Nice to Live Again going last? Did Dennis feel that the song Surf's Up shouldn't be included, either because he felt it was wrong to disrespect Brian's wishes, despite Brian's eventual decision to work on the tag? Or because he felt that band should be looking forward, and not backwards? Or did he just want his song last, and Surf's Up elsewhere on the album? And finally, do we have any evidence about whether or not Feet or Student Demonstration Time were replacements for the Dennis songs, or did the group just originally expect a longer album?

Any answers to any of these would be very appreciated if they exist! It can be so hard to sort out fact from well supported rumor from spurious rumor from opinions sometimes.

I think where the Beach Boys really lost their way, beginning, in my opinion, when Sunflower flopped, and continuing for the rest of their career, is that their string of failures get to them to the extent that they forgot an absolute cardinal rule - make the best album you can, and let the public follow. The whole semi-cynical idea of trying to create the illusion of Brian involvement to build publicity, plus all the petty internal power struggles, got in the way of putting out the best album they could. And once you stop working at your best, stop focusing first and foremost on the music, you're cutting off your nose to spite your face, because people can tell when you're not at your best; they smell blood. In my opinion, it's often easier for a lesser band to do well working at their very best than for a great band that's letting crap get in the way of the music, even if the great band's mediocre music is better than the lesser bands best work. People can just feel it. The fact that Carl or Brian or Al or Mike or Bruce didn't stand up and say: this song has to come out because it's frickin fantastic, because we want the best album we can make, is so sad. So sad, but not remotely surprising.

Can someone elaborate on the root of the idea that Lady would have turned up on Surf's Up? Is there an interview or tape reel or some other bit of contemporaneous evidence? My recollection is that Sound of Free was never considered for Surf's Up, although it may have been for sunflower??? I can't remember...